Alex Maceda's 1heart Ayahuasca Experience Stories

From Depression as a Stanford MBA and Silicon Valley Startup Exec to Thriving and Abundant Artistry in Joshua Tree with Alex Maceda & Brandon Evans

Alex Maceda, aka amac, lived Western society’s dream life. She had the money, influence, credentials, and status people dream of. But all of these things left her broken, depressed, and empty. Then she found her way to 1heart. And her time at this transformational ayahuasca retreat organization cleared the smoke so she could live in her fullest color. Amac began following her natural passion of being an artist, which supports her soul and lifestyle in ways society’s dream never did, or could.

Episode Description:

In our third episode, our Chief Elevation Officer, Brandon Evans, interviews Alex Maceda from Journeys 6, 9, and 12. Alex is a Filipina-American artist and writer living in Joshua Tree, CA.

Her energetic abstract work and lyrics are inspired by the desert landscape and human (emotional) and spiritual themes. Her paintings have appeared in shows worldwide, including Los Angeles, Portland, Joshua Tree, and Madrid.

She was one of the first traditional abstract artists to enter the NFT space and has sold over 150 pieces of original work. Before focusing on art, amac had a successful career in the brand and consumer start-up world at companies like landing.space, two chairs, everlane, and mmlafleur. She advises numerous brands and venture funds and co-directs meta-curious, a web3 marketing accelerator.

In this episode, we talk about:

How living society’s dream fueled depression rather than fulfillment in her life

Her intentions for her Journeys and how ayahuasca gave her what she needed, not what she wanted

The importance of ayahuasca preparation and integration to support the invaluable insights she received

How her creativity has flourished and grown since her Journeys at 1heart

The ease of giving love and gratitude but the challenges they faced and felt receiving appreciation and love

Please enjoy!

About 1heart:

1heart is an all-inclusive human accelerator designed to fully elevate your mind, body, and spirit. Our 1 week fully immersive retreat and 7 weeks of virtual preparation & integration experience brings together high-performing entrepreneurs, CEOs, leaders, and change-makers with (sacred) ancient and modern modalities for intense personal growth to deeply align your individual and our collective purposes for maximum life fulfillment.

The people behind the podcast:

Check out Brandon’s (Co-Founder & CEO) website: https://www.brandonevans.be

Check out Tim’s (Co-Founder & COO) website: https://www.timsaekoo.com

DISCLAIMER: In sharing stories from leaders who have used plant medicine, including ayahuasca, to elevate their lives, we are not recommending it to you or suggesting that it will have the same results. Each individual will react differently to the medicine, which can be largely shaped by the set and setting of your experience as well as your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual state prior to joining. If you’re interested in this or a similar experience, we recommend you do your own research and speak to others who have done it so you can best determine if it is a good fit for you at this time. Should you decide to do so, we strongly suggest doing so with great reverence and respect for the medicine and the powerful effects it can create in your life. We also recommend anyone working with this medicine spend time preparing themselves before their ceremony(s) and have resources lined up to support them in their integration post-ceremony(s).

Also, it is important to note that the plants and compounds mentioned in this post are still illegal in many countries, and even possession can carry severe criminal penalties. None of this post constitutes medical advice or should be construed as a recommendation to use psychedelics. There are serious legal, psychological, and physical risks. Psychedelics are not for everyone—they can exacerbate certain emotional problems, and there have been, in very rare cases, fatalities.